The Askani
by Patch5129
Summary: AU The Askani are an organization whoes objective has been to investigate myths and legends. Now a young Jean Grey has appeared, what powers does she have? And who else is watching her? RR please
1. Discovery

**Authors Note:** This is an Alternate Universe story, feauturing Cable, Jean Grey, Racheal Summers, Mr. Siniters and more. It will be slightly slow paced at first, hope everyone enjoys it.  
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**Disclaimer -** I don't own any of Marvel's characters, please dont sue.

**The Askani**

"DIE! YOU ALL WILL DIE!!!" screamed the young woman who was thrashing on the floor, constricted by a strait jacket, with metal rings fitted across her shoulders, wrists and legs. She had dirt and scrapes on her face, from struggling with the hospital staff numerous times, while being pinned to the ground. She was missing locks of her dark red hair, which the staff noted that she torn out herself. And her lower lip was bleeding. But most disturbingly were her eyes. Most of the time they looked hollowed showing no signs of life, but now and than they would have a brief flash of crimson in them. However no notes were made of this.

"Please sweetheart," whimpered a young nurse, who was holding her shoulders steady and tilting her head back, exposing her neck to the other nurse. "Hold still."

"This will make the pain go away." Said the other nurse, as if she was coaxing a dog into its kennel for a ride to the vet. She carefully moved the hypodermic needle around a bit, making sure she would be able to prick the right area of the girl's neck, than suddenly made a quick thrust and pushed the fluids from the needle into the girl's neck.

The young woman let out a half scream, half roar as the nurse drew the needle out, and she stopped struggling and twitched every couple seconds. The nurse who was holding the girl to the floor relaxed her grip on her and backed up and rose from the ground slowly, cautiously. "Do you....do you think that dosage did the trick?"

"I hope so. If we go any higher, it would be serious grounds for malpractice." Responded the other nurse as she placed a cap over the needle and than began to write on a clipboard she carried with her and began mumbling to herself; "Patient #463..... day 97.....dosage ...stable."

Suddenly the young woman stopped twitching, and began to scream and moan again. She looked up at the nurses and her eyes flashed crimson for a second, and she screamed at them; ASHES....ALL OF YOU AND YOUR WORLD WILL BE ASHES UNDER MY FEET!!!"

The younger nurse let out a startled gasp and backed up to the door quickly as the other nurse calmly backed up a few feet and scribbles something out on her clipboard and sighs in frustration. "Miss Jean Grey...day 97....no change."

Both nurses walked out of Jean's room, leaving her screaming about universes dying and sun growing cold. The older nurse secured the door with the massive sliding metal beam, ensuring that the patient could not escape. And the younger one just stared at the red heading woman in the room as the door shut. "Why doesn't the tranquilizer have any effect on her? The dosage is enough to drop an elephant, dead during a charge." The younger nurse asked.

"I don't know." Replied the older nurse as she finished writing on the clipboard. "Some people have an incredible amount of stamina, and their body's immune system just somehow resist the tranq."

"Have you ever seen something like this before?" asked the younger nurse still staring at the door, as if she was trying to look trough it to see the patient.

"Actually, only one other time. Some war survivor, short and hairy, acted like an animal. We gave him the highest dosage that you could put in a single needle. No effect." Said the nurse as she removed the report from the clipboard and walked over to the main counter and dropped it in a basket.

"Where is he now?" asked the younger nurse, catching up.

"Not sure, some say he is still here, in the D Block. Others say he broke out and ran away. No one is telling anyone anything." She wiped her brow and looked up at the clock and sighed. "I am going to get some coffee, you coming?"

"No, I still have a few other patients to attend to, I'll see you later tonight."

"Ok hun, have a good time." Said the older nurse as she walked off to the break room, leaving the other nurse to gather the files she will need for her night patients.

As she sorted them into what order she would visit them, she suddenly jumped a little as someone tapped her on the shoulder. As she turned around she came to face a man in his late twenties, but with already white hair, and a scar going across his left eye. "Oh, Dr. Dayspring. You spooked me." She exhaled slightly smiling.

"Sorry, a nasty habit of mine. And please, call me Nathan or Nate. Dr. Dayspring just sounds too formal for my tastes."

"Right, sorry Nathan. How are you tonight?"

"Not a problem Mandy, and I am doing fine."

"What are you doing on B Block? All your patients are on A Block."

"We were out of neuroapinephrine, and I came down here to see if you had any to spare in the mixing lab."

"Sure, I think we have a few bottles of it in the lab, help yourself." She said as she began to walk off to her patients.

"Mandy? One more thing?"

"Yes?"

"Who is the girl in that room? The one you just came out of?" asked Nathan, nodding to the door.

Mandy winced and frowned a little. "Sorry Nathan, everything about her is confidential, she is one of Dr. Essex's patients, and Barbara and I just give her, her daily dosage, and write the results. Truth is, that's all we ever do with her, and so even if I could tell you something, I don't _really_ know anything about her."

"Ah, ok. Have a good night Mandy." Said Nathan, looking at the door.

"You too, Nate." Responded Mandy as she walked off.

"Dr. Essex." Mumbled Nathan to himself as he walked back to A Block, without getting the neuroapinephrine.

"Block D, sector three?"

"Clear."

"Block D, sector four?"

"Clear."

"And that's a wrap" said Cliff as he sat back, looking away from the video monitors, and began to read his book.

His partner, Mark, simply tilted his hat forwards and leaned back as if too take a nap. "Not a bad job, night shift, mental ward, paid to sit around and occasionally watch the monitors."

"Mmhmm." Mumbled Cliff, engrossed in his book.

"That should do the trick." Nathan mumbled to himself as he hit a few keys on his laptop and watched the digital security camera pivot back and forth, without the 'motion detector' going off. He looked at the screen again and read to himself quietly; "Camera's for A and B block, are now frozen." He than got up, and walked with ease to the main desk in B Block, the camera's not detecting him.

At the desk he looked in the filing cabinets and flipped through all the files, looking for one in particular. "Here we go, room one-thirty seven." He took the file out of the drawer and opened it.

As he flipped through the papers in the file his eyes widened and narrowed. He took out his cell phone and turned its camera mode on, and took pictures of several of the papers. Than turned it off and put the file away thinking out loud. "Well, this is getting interesting."


	2. What is she?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the X-Men or anything X-Men related.

**Dedicated – **To my girlfriend, thank you for always encouraging me and being there for me. I wouldn't have bothered with this if not for you.

**A/N** – If anyone has even read the first chapter and has been (for some odd reason) been waiting for another chapter. I am sorry it has taken this long. Had this chapter written for about 2 months now, was just waiting for some reviews. PLEASE R/R people.

The Askani: Chapter Two 

Nathan pulled up to a big house that was off a deserted road, at a first glance one would think that the road led nowhere and would turn around and get back on the main highway, but if you kept driving for several minutes you would eventually see the house of the woman known as Mother Askani. Within the massive house off the deserted road resided an organization known as The Askani. Throughout time, they monitor activities and legends occurring, that most people call myths. They don't investigate ghost sightings, or urban legends, or common myths such as the Blair Witch or the Jersey Devil. The Askani keeps their eyes on old creatures of power, ones that could bring about the world ending. In short the Askani see themselves as the protectors of humanity, to a certain degree.

As Nathan walked up the stairs to the main gate, he could almost feel all the security focusing on him, if he was to sneeze or trip over a step at any moment, all of the security would be all over him. There were no doorknobs on the great doors leading into the house; the only way to get in was to knock. A special seal was placed on the door that recognized the sound waves and force that each member of the Askani generated when they knocked, bidding only the members in, and not opening its doors to the others.

Right when Nathan walked in, two guards walked strait up to him and asked him to remove any weapons. Nathan opened his coat and revealed a large knife, a pistol, several stealth gadgets, his cell phone and a stethoscope. Upon seeing the last item the guards looked at Nathan quizzically, to which Nathan responded; "Rushed here after work."

Satisfied the guards let Nathan past the foyer of the mansion and to proceed to whatever areas of the mansion he chose. On his way to Mother Askani's quarters he ran into Kane and Aliya, two people that he worked with. When they saw him they asked him if the stories they have been hearing were true, about what he has discovered. He simply told them that he wasn't sure what he had found and needed to run it all by Mother Askani. They left him as he went down the hall to her quarters, knowing that is was indeed a matter that needed to be kept under wraps until they knew for sure what was going on. As Nathan grew near the doors, they automatically swung open, and he walked right in. knowing that if Mother Askani was busy, the doors would remain closed. Inside Mother Askani's room were a giant monitor on the wall, a couple smaller monitors under that, a massive wooden desk, carved with many seals and symbols, three chairs facing the desk, a table with chairs all around it, a great library, another door leading to her sleeping quarters, and a small collection of bladed and projectile weapons on the wall, all of which she have mastered. Nathan walked strait to the desk, stopped right in between two of the chairs and gave the woman sitting behind the desk a small bow. "Mother Askani." He said.

"As you do not like people being so formal with your position at the mental ward, I do not like people being so formal outside of an assignment and in my own quarters." Replied the woman.

"Yes Rachael, I'll remember that someday." Smirked Nathan as he sat down in the center chair.

Rachael gave Nathan a half smile, they have served side by side on many missions and the formality between them quickly disappeared. Rachael was dressed in a business suit, which had a jacket top, and a mid length skirt on the bottom. Her hair was a dark red, and she had emerald green eyes. Her face was more round than pointy, her nose was small and had a point at the tip, and her lips were just a bit thin. "What have you found out at the mental ward?" she asked looking into Nathan's eyes with up most seriousness. "Were our agents in the Egyptian branch correct? Have we found the new vessel of the Phoenix?"

"To be honest, I can't really tell." Responded Nathan as he handed Rachael his cell phone, to which she plugged into her computer and projected the camera images onto the main monitor.

"We have seen many cases like this where all the big pieces matched up, but not the little pieces, which proved to make all the difference in the world. This one however, all the little pieces match up, but the big obvious ones do not."

"So like the other ones, this could be a fraud as well?" asked Rachael as she looked at the first image.

"Maybe, maybe not. You can see that the patient, Miss Jean Grey, her body quickly recovers from the tranquilizers and meds that the mental ward gives her. Promoting the resurrection ability of the Phoenix."

"Yes, but her body could have a high stamina, we have seen it before, in Germany and in Israel." Responded Rachael as she clicked the remote to show the next image.

"True, but the dosage amount, it almost lethal" countered Nathan. Rachael saw the close up of the amount used on Jean Grey and clicked through more pictures, seeing that the dosage went up at first every week, than every other day than everyday. "No human immune system or stamina amount can counter that high of a dose over a period just over three months."

"So...what doesn't match up?" Asked Rachael a little confused and excited over the prospect of finally finding the Phoenix.

"Well, as you can see in the next image," Rachael clicked the remote. "Her doctor and nurses have reported her frequently screaming and yelling about destroying the world, as well as just going berserk, to a point that she is in a padded cell, suited in a strait jacket with metal binders."

"Insanity? That is not a trait recorded to be among the vessels of the Phoenix." Said Rachael, more to herself than to Nathan.

"And another thing, if Miss Grey does have the powers of the Phoenix, why haven't she broken out of her cell? She would just so much, have to flick her fingers at the wall and the entire place would crumble."

"So, she isn't the vessel. Just an anomaly."

"That's what I thought too, and I would have dropped it right there, but two more things kept bothering me." Said Nathan as he lean forward, his head rested on his hands. "One, if there is nothing special about this patient, why is the file confidential? Why is no one allowed to talk about it?"

"Who is her doctor?"

"Someone named Nathaniel Essex. Odd thing is, Jean Grey is the only patient he looks after."

"Computer." Rachael spoke to her mainframe. "Run a search on the name Nathaniel Essex."

"Initiating" the computer, responded in a flat, monotone voice.

"And the other?" asked Rachael as the computer searched.

"Look at the last two pictures."

Rachael looked at them, both were photographs from mental exercise sessions with Jean and Dr. Essex. One showed her with hallowed out eyes.

"Possession" responded Rachael.

She looked at the other one, which showed her in a fit of rage, with her eyes slightly red.

"Is that the Phoenix force?" she wondered.

"I want to say yes." Responded Nathan. "But like I said, too many things say 'no'.

"Search complete" stated the computer.

"Run results." Ordered Rachael as she switched the monitor's viewing from the images to the computers response screen.

"Nathaniel Essex, dual citizenship with the United States and England, with no known criminal record. Co-owner of many famous museums in the United States, and has sponsored many archeological digs in Egypt, South America, Israel, Australia, China, and Africa. Had a double Major in Sanford College, in History, and psychology, as well as a minor in anthropology."

"Historic events, mental habits and behaviors, and culture of other people. Sounds like someone who might be looking for the Phoenix." Said Rachael as she lowered the screen and just looked at the bookshelves, as if looking for a specific title.

"What are my orders?" asked Nathan as he rose from the chair.

"Continue to monitor Miss Grey, we need more proof that she is the vessel before we can think about making a move." Responded Rachael as she broke her gaze from the bookshelf and looked at Nathan.

"Yes Mother Askani" replied Nathan, making a small bow and leaving Rachael, to think.


	3. Late Hours

A/N – Sorry for the extremely late update. Thank you **jschmidt **and **Telepathic Angel **for your reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter. And a special thanks to Kate, for giving me more motivation for this.

Disclaimer – I do not own the X-Men or the Askani

Nathaniel Essex sat in his office in the mental ward, his desk covered with many open books, scrolls, manuscripts, and a small bit of a tapestry. His lab coat was tossed on the floor, and his button up shirt was undone at the first three buttons from his neck. He would read part of a passage from a certain book, than quickly read over another passage from another book, than occasionally check a manuscript, at the end of each cycle he would pound his fist on the desk, or simply throw the book across the room. After several hours he just gripped his hair and rest his against his arms and curse to himself, gnashing his teeth. "Damn that man…he used a Japanese seal!" he cursed as stood up and paced up and down his office, looking at a scroll on his wall that had numerous seals written on it. _"Why did he have to use a Japanese seal? There are no counter curses for a Japanese seal… damn you Grey. _

Nathaniel walked to his pile of books on the Library, and flipped a few pages as he ran his hands through his hair, down his cheek, feeling the stubble that reminded him that he needed to shave, and finally though his patch on his chin, where he rested his hand and read the aged manuscript. After a few minutes, he stopped and ran his finger over a passage of text, as if to make sure he didn't skip a row. After rereading it, he got up and walked to the scroll on his wall, and looked over them all. Reciting the passage he just read in his mind; _"…A seal is not just ink or blood on paper or a person. It is a living contract, that will do what it is created for until its 'death'." _Seeing the seal he was looking for he taps it with his finger and wondered to himself. _"I wonder…if I can not remove the seal…can I kill it?" _

He walked to a painting on the adjacent wall, and ran his fingers along the frame of the painting; Suddenly the "painting" shimmered a bit and vanished, revealing a safe. He pressed the number sequence on the keypad, and the safe opened. Inside the safe were some files, a laptop, a few very old scrolls, a small handgun, and a small black case. He took the handgun and the small black case, than closed the safe door and walked a small fridge that was near his door, where he usually kept small frozen dinners, drinks for late nights. He opened the small freezer compartment revealing some pouches of blood. He thumbed open the small black case revealing a small pen, and took it out, than twisted it, causing a small needle to extend from the tip. He than stuck the needle into the port and watched as some of the blood went from the pouch to the pen.

Of the things that Nathaniel created, this "pen" was one of his favorites. It functioned like a normal pen, but was not meant for holding ink; rather its writing supply was blood. In the fields of researching and creating seals, Nathaniel knew that many seals, at least the more powerful ones were made of, or required blood. After a few seals, Nathaniel found that he and others grew tired of constantly cutting themselves or dipping their fingers in bowls of blood to make seals, which most of the time turned out to not work because of how sloppy they turned out. So he developed a special pen, based on the design of normal fountain pen, but made some necessary modifications. Such as the pen had a small cooling unit in the casing, so that the blood wouldn't coagulate as quickly, once it was exposed to heat. To draw the blood from its container, one just had to twist the pen like they were trying to open a normal pen and a needle would slowly extract from the tip, than one would simply pull back on the pen's clip (like drawing ink into a fountain pen) filling the chamber with blood. Than you would twist the pen again, retracting the needle and you were all set. To write with this pen, all you had to do was push down on the surface you wished to write on, this would push the stopper inside the pens tip back and allow the blood to flow out. One would have to write slowly, or there would be breaks in whatever one was writing, but the preciseness of the completed work was always well worth the time. (AN: sorry for this boring paragraph, but I wanted to make clear what the pen was and how it worked.)

Satisfied, Nathaniel pocketed the pen in his lab-coat's breast pocket, and his pistol, a Walther P22, in his slack's pocket. He exited his office, locking the door behind him and made his way to room 137. On his way there he stopped by the security guard's main desk to sign the normal papers for visiting a patient. "Good evening…or rather early morning Cliff. Quiet night?" he asked as he signed the papers rapidly.

"As quiet as it can get with half the patients howling about everything from bugs to the army of squirrels waiting to take over us all." Mumbled Cliff checking some of the monitors and the papers that were just signed making sure everything was in order.

"Cliff, these people all need help, and the best attention and treatment we can give them. Lets no belittle their behavior and conditions."

"I'm sorry Doctor, ill try to be more courteous." Only half meaning his words.

"Thank you, now please blind the cameras to room one thirty-seven, until I come back."

Cliff sighed softly and turned the cameras off. "Doctor, there are other, legal ways of…. satisfying yourself. You don't have to…"

"What are you accusing me of here, Cliff?" snapped Nathaniel, knowing what was going through the guard's mind.

"Nothing sir! I was just talking out of my ass…haven't slept much of late, and I don't know what I say half the time." Cliff replied quickly, trying to cover up what he said earlier.

"Well, get some sleep later today. That comment borderlines false accusation and will not stand for it!" retorted Nathaniel, raising his voice a little.

"Yes sir." Cliff said quickly "The room is ready for you."

Nathaniel strode off to the room without responding.

"Ass." Mumbled Cliff as he took he book back out and read some more.

Soon Nathaniel was standing at the door to room 137. He swiped his ID card into the scanner, and heard the locks click, granting him access. Before entering the room, Nathaniel took out the pen and shook it up a bit, moving the blood around, and double-checked the safety on his firearm. Satisfied, he placed his palm on the door and began to push it open. _"Lets try this again Miss Grey." _He though as he walking into the room, eyeing the unconscious girl on the floor, secured by the straitjacket.


End file.
